


Choose wisely...

by Ganym



Series: Three doors, three choices [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: AU, Bodyswap, F/F, Genderbending, M/M, Multi, Multiple Endings, OOC!Man in the Moon, Power swapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ganym/pseuds/Ganym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Man in the Moon sends Jack into Pitch's lair for a peculiar mission...</p>
<p>This is actually an introduction, leading to three AU stories and a conclusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choose wisely...

**Author's Note:**

> Hey :) This is my first fanfic, so I hope you'll like it !  
> By the way, I'm not a native English speaker, so I may make a few stupid mistakes: please please correct me!
> 
> If this strikes your interest, say so: it'll only motivate me to write more of it :)

“Well, well, well, what have we here?”

 Jack repressed a half-smile. The song was going on in his head: “Sandy Claws, huh? I'm really scared!” He'd gotten used to watching movies with Jamie and _Nightmare before Christmas_ was one of his favourites. Obviously. But now wasn't the time to anger Pitch with such a stupid, human reference.

 “Uh... Hi.”

 Yeah. That wasn't really the best he could do. At all.

 “I... wanted to check on you.”

  _Smooth, Jack_ , he thought to himself. A dark laugh echoed around him.

 “ _You_? Wanted to 'check on' _me_?”

 Pitch's voice was incredulous and cynical at the same time, a rare feat that none other than him could have pulled off.

  “Well, yeah... It's been... like, two years, since we... since you...”

 “Since I lost and was trapped in here with my nightmares.”

  His voice cut, this time, as sharp as broken glass.

  _You're making real good progress, Jack. Go on like that, and you might end up disembowelled before you even can talk about the actual reason you're here._

 “You're wrong, though. It'll be three years in a few days. Three years I've spent in darkness, my beloved darkness, with my nightmares as only company. Taming them hasn't been easy, I confess, but now, the few that still exist follow my every want.”

 As if to prove he wasn't lying, a tendril of shadow probed against Jack's leg, delicately curling around it. Jack whacked it away with his staff, more by reflex than because he felt threatened. The spirit of fun wasn't really scared—which was a good thing, considering his fear would have only fed Pitch. No, he was rather perplexed... and a little tense. That much was undeniable. Why would the Man in the Moon send him here?

 He tried a different tactic.

 “Why don't you show yourself?” he complained. Talking to moving shadows wasn't exactly entrancing.

 “I will if you tell me why you're really there”, the disembodied voice answered, whooshing around him, as if it had only understood that Jack didn't like it and was therefore exaggerating it.

  _Yay_ . The frost spirit sighed. If only _he_ knew why he really was there...

 Two nights ago, when the moon was full and huge and he was dancing atop the trees, flirting with the winds, the Man in the Moon had spoken to him. In his mind. Directly. He had said:

 “Go to the Boogeyman. Take him to the Minotaur's Labyrinth. Choose wisely.”

 And then he hadn't answered Jack's frustrated questions. The immortal youth had spent two days looking for the mentioned labyrinth, before asking Jamie... who had of course known exactly where it was.

 Jack sighed. He wanted to get this over with and go play in the snow with the children, not babysit the lord of shadows.

 “Have you heard of the Minotaur?” he asked, wanting to spark his enemy's curiosity. Wrong idea.

 He was suddenly pushed against a wall, a hand of shadows on his throat, cutting his breath.

 “Do not mock me or make me lose my time, ice boy. I am not in a patient mood.”

 “I can see that”, Jack croaked, barely breathing at all—not that he needed it, but he still preferred being able to. At least, now Pitch was somewhat visible. Or rather his golden eyes were, shining in the darkness. He'd never noticed how alive they were, almost burning. His shadow-hand, too, was uncomfortably hot against his cold skin. He winced and tried to pry Pitch's fingers off his throat. It didn't work.

 “Oh, fuck it then.” There weren't any children around, he could swear if he wanted to. He coughed, but the lord of darkness didn't loosen his grip, forcing Jack to inhale uncomfortably. “The Man in the Moon sent me.”

 The effect was immediate: the hand disappeared, its owner with it, leaving the frost sprite to stumble to the floor.

 “Since when does _he_ care?”

 “No idea. He never ever talked to me. Well, before this.”

 “What did he say?”

 The voice was curious, menacing, angry, but also a little uncertain, worried, like a child's one, who fears he has caused his parent's wrath.

 “Something about going to the Minotaur's Labyrinth and choosing wisely. It's in Crete-”

 He didn't even have time to finish his sentence. The shadows had swallowed him whole. A spike of fear surged in him, causing Pitch to laugh darkly, everywhere around him, but finally it stopped and he could see the starry sky.

 “Where are we?”

 Pitch was standing next to him, completely visible now, or rather, as visible as a shadow can be at night, his bronze eyes glowing warmly.

 “Where do you think? I figured we should get this over with as fast as possible.”

 Jack looked around him. They were in the middle of a labyrinth, true enough—but what choice was there to make? Only one way led to the centre, and they were there already. Had the Man in the Moon thought this through?

 Suddenly a ray of moonlight fell on them, causing the stone floor to rumble. Something moved behind them and three doors appeared in the wall.

 “Choose together. Choose wisely.”

 He had spoken again, and this time it hadn't been directly in his mind. Which meant that Pitch had heard it too.

 Their eyes met, filled with the same perplexity. What was this all about?

 “This is preposterous!” Pitch exclaimed suddenly. “Why should I do anything _you_ say?”

 He disappeared in the shadows, leaving Jack alone.

 Or rather, he tried to.

 “Wh-what?” the dark spirit only managed to say, stumbling backwards, almost knocking Jack over.

 He tried to teleport, to become one with his shadows, again and again, but it never worked. Worried himself, the younger spirit tried to ride the wind away, but to no avail. Even his frost powers were rendered null. He sighed.

 “We'll have to do as he says.”

 Pitch turned suddenly around, seizing Jack by his chin.

 “You- this is all your fault!”

 “No it's not!”

 “Yes it is! _You_ lead me here to be trapped! At least I was in my lair, with my mares. Now... now I'm trapped in open air, with _you_ as only company!”

 Jack pushed the spirit of fear away.

 “Calm down, for fuck's sake. I didn't do anything. Do you really think I would want to be trapped with you, here, for all of eternity?”

 There was a silence.

 “No. That's what I thought. So here's what I suggest: we choose one of these doors and 'get this over with', as you said.”

 Pitch crossed his arms, clenching his teeth.

 “Fine. But you'll pay, one way or another.”

 “Yeah, yeah.”

 Jack shrugged.

 “So, which door do we choose?”

 


End file.
